There has never been a demand for gay characters unless they are comedic. I guarantee if you polled the public and asked what they want more of on tv gayness would rank near the bottom but of course Hollywood and media far too often are about what they want rather than what the consumers want. Most heterosexuals don’t want to watch gay love stories/kissing etc. I don’t mind gay characters provided they are relevant to the story rather than some kind of forced dynamic sanitized for public consumption.
See, Paul Lynde.